Effects of scar massage on burn scars: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aims And Objectives: This study explored the physical and psychological effects of scar massage on burn patients.

Background: Hypertrophic scar development is highly prevalent following burn injuries. Scar massage may have physical and psychological effects, although evidence of its effectiveness for burn scar improvement remains inconsistent.

Association Between Transient Newborn Hypoglycemia and Fourth-Grade Achievement Test Proficiency: A Population-Based Study.

Importance: Prolonged neonatal hypoglycemia is associated with poor long-term neurocognitive function. However, little is known about an association between early transient newborn hypoglycemia and academic achievement.

Objective: To determine if early (within the first 3 hours of life) transient hypoglycemia (a single initial low glucose concentration, followed by a second value above a cutoff) is associated with subsequent poor academic performance.

Statin use is associated with improved survival in patients undergoing surgery for renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: To determine whether statin use at time of surgery is associated with survival following nephrectomy or partial nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Statins are thought to exhibit a protective effect on cancer incidence and possibly cancer survival in a number of malignancies. To date, no studies have shown an independent association between statin use and mortality in RCC.

SOX2 expression in the developing, adult, as well as, diseased prostate.

Background: SOX2 is a member of SOX (SRY-related high mobility group box) family of transcription factors.

Methods: In this study, we examined the expression of SOX2 in murine and human prostatic specimens by immunohistochemistry.

Results: We found that SOX2 was expressed in murine prostates during budding morphogenesis and in neuroendocrine (NE) prostate cancer (PCa) murine models.

Progress made in the use of animal models for the study of high-risk, nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer.

Purpose Of Review: High-risk, nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC) represents a costly and difficult-to-treat disease, the molecular pathogenesis of which has a limited understanding. Most preclinical models for the study of bladder cancer are more appropriate for the study of advanced disease. However, recent key advances in preclinical animal models places us at an opportune position to better understand HR-NMIBC.

Surgical intervention for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia is correlated with expression of the AP-1 transcription factor network.

Background: Approximately one-third of patients fail medical treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia and associated lower urinary tract symptoms (BPH/LUTS) requiring surgical intervention. Our purpose was to establish a molecular characterization for patients undergoing surgical intervention for LUTS to address therapeutic deficiencies.

Methods: Clinical, molecular, and histopathological profiles were analyzed in 26 patients undergoing surgery for severe LUTS.

Deficiency in metabolic regulators PPARγ and PTEN cooperates to drive keratinizing squamous metaplasia in novel models of human tissue regeneration.

Hindgut-derived endoderm can differentiate into rectal, prostatic, and bladder phenotypes. Stromal-epithelial interactions are crucial for this development; however, the precise mechanisms by which epithelium responds to stromal cues remain unknown. We have previously reported ectopic expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ2 (PPARγ2) increased androgen receptor expression and promoted differentiation of mouse prostate epithelium.

BV6, an IAP antagonist, activates apoptosis and enhances radiosensitization of non-small cell lung carcinoma in vitro.

Introduction: Defects in the apoptosis pathway limit the effectiveness of radiation in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) therapy. BV6 is an antagonist of cIAP1 and XIAP, members of the inhibitors of apoptosis (IAP) family. We investigated the potential of BV6 to sensitize NSCLC cell lines to radiation.

Epitope-based matching for HLA-alloimmunized platelet refractoriness in patients with hematologic diseases.

Background: For HLA-alloimmunized patients, platelet (PLT) concentrations are provided either at matched HLA-A and HLA-B loci or by serologic cross-reactivity groups (CREG) matching strategy. However, this method has some limitations.

Study Design And Methods: In this study, the epitope-based matching (EBM) method was evaluated for selecting proper HLA-typed PLTs for patients with PLT transfusion refractoriness.

Issues and biases in matching medicaid pregnancy episodes to vital records data: the Arkansas experience.

Objectives: This study examines the extent of selection biases identified in the process of linking Medicaid claims with evidence of pregnancy to vital records.

Methods: Two years of Medicaid claims were scanned to identify pregnancy-related diagnoses and procedures. Information on 55,764 Medicaid recipients was provided to the Division of Health Statistics, which linked the information to vital records data on a range of identifying characteristics.

Safety restraint use linked to hospital use and charges in Arkansas.

Crash data from 2001-2005 was linked to hospital discharge data to determine the impact of safety restraint use on crashed-related hospital charges and use for 4013 hospitalizations. Safety restraint use, year of hospitalization and age group affected the hospital charges and length of stay after a crash. Mean hospital charges were 44% greater for unrestrained patients ($44,736 versus $30,990); mean length of stay was 23% longer for the unrestrained (9.

A unique 502C>T mutation in exon 7 of ABO gene associated with the Bel phenotype in Taiwan.

Background: The ABO system includes many variant subgroups. Some of them are difficult to identify serologically, leading to mistyping of blood groups. For example, Bel is often typed as O blood group.

Sequence diversity of the capsid gene and the nonstructural gene NS2B of dengue-3 virus in vivo.

Previously, we studied the envelope (E) gene of dengue virus and reported that dengue-3 virus is present as a quasispecies. To investigate the extent of intrahost sequence variation of other dengue viral genes, we examined in this study the capsid (C) gene and the nonstructural gene, NS2B, derived directly from plasma dengue viruses from 18 confirmed dengue-3 patients. Using reverse transcription-PCR, multiple clones of a 360-nucleotide region covering the C gene and of a 404-nucleotide region covering the NS2B gene from each patient were completely sequenced and analyzed.